Fresno State Athletics
2009 Volleyball Schedule Announced
5/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 27, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Head Bulldog volleyball coach Lauren Netherby-Sewell unveiled the 2009 schedule in which the `Dogs host a pre-season tournament and will travel to Wyoming, Sacramento and Los Angeles before Western Athletic Conference play begins.
The Bulldogs open the season for the second-straight year by hosting the Fresno State Invitational at the Save Mart Center, Aug. 28-29. At the tournament will be three familiar teams for the `Dogs from the last two seasons, in Cal State Bakersfield, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Pacific.
Fresno State traveled to UW-Green Bay for a tournament last season and hosted Cal State Bakersfield in their home tournament in 2008 as well.
"Our home tournament is a good one," said Netherby-Sewell. "We host Wisconsin- Green Bay, a tough Midwest opponent from last year's schedule and two teams from our valley's backyard. Cal State Bakersfield and University of Pacific are both sure to bring loud fans and plenty of powerful play. It'll be a dog fight in front of a good crowd at our Save Mart Center to see us all compete for the tournament title. These are matches not to be missed!"
The `Dogs then hit the road for the entire month of September for three non-conference tournaments, beginning at the Wyoming Invitational in Laramie, Wyo., Sept. 4-5. There the `Dogs will meet the University of North Dakota, Montana State and the host Cowgirls.
It's then back to the state of California for the Bulldogs as they go north to the Hornet Invitational on Sept. 11, hosted by Sacramento State to face the Hornets, Alabama and the University of San Francisco.
The final tournament will be jointly hosted as the `Dogs take on Cal State Northridge on the Matador campus on Sept. 18 and then travel to USC to take on the Trojans and Portland on Sept. 19.
"Our non-conference schedule puts us in a position to be appropriately challenged several times by strong teams throughout California," Netherby-Sewell added. "I found it fortunate that we could compete against the likes of strong teams just down the road, teams I think our Bulldog fans will enjoy watching us go to battle with! It'll be great for our program to play many teams within our region, including Wyoming. Inevitably, this will help our program and conference score better in the rankings and eventually move us closer to an NCAA Tournament bid."
The annual exhibition match between Fresno State and Fresno Pacific is set for Sept. 23 on the campus of FPU before the `Dogs open WAC play at Nevada on Sept. 26.
Matches at Boise State (Oct. 1) and Idaho (Oct. 3) wrap up the road schedule before the `Dogs host Utah State (Oct. 8) in the home conference opener.
The `Dogs also have matches at home vs. Idaho, Boise State and Hawai'i in October and host San Jose State on Halloween.
In November, the `Dogs head to Hawai'i and host Nevada and Louisiana Tech before hosting Mew Mexico State on Nov. 14 for Senior Night.
The final two regular season matches are in-state at Cal State Bakersfield on Nov. 17 and San Jose State on Nov. 19.
"The WAC is sure to be strong and pretty competitive through the middle again, but with our improvements we'll be better suited to compete for a good placement," Netherby-Sewell added.
The 2009 WAC Tournament has a different look this year as the top six teams at the end of the regular season will qualify and play in Las Vegas, Nev., with the tournament winner earning the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that begins on Dec. 6.
"I'm pleased with the move of the WAC Tournament," said Netherby-Sewell. "Moving the play back to Las Vegas, a neutral site and one easily accessible by most teams will be a bonus. Hawai'i was a wonderful place to play last year, but Las Vegas should be able to pull a good draw of fans from all schools competing. Some good motivation to perform in the regular season is upon us and we'll be working every day for one of the top six spots to make it in!"
Fresno State finished seventh in the WAC standings in 2008 in its first year under Netherby-Sewell and posted a 7-20 overall record
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - For ticket information click the icon on the top of the page. For information on Bulldog volleyball in the offseason stay logged on to www.gobulldogs.com.
